Bellevue attorney Randy Gordon has dropped his bid for the Democratic nomination to challenge first-term Rep. Dave Reichert in WA’s 8th Congressional District. This leaves Darcy Burner as the only declared challenger.
While Gordon struggled to raise money, by all accounts Burner has exceeded targets set for her by the DCCC, Emily’s List and other potential big donors, and surely, her fundraising advantage must have played into Gordon’s decision to withdraw. In prior conversations, Gordon had assured me that should he drop out, he would actively support the eventual nominee, and thus I expect he will eventually endorse Burner.
In a letter to supporters Gordon said that he would “consider other elective positions.” I was unable to get ahold of Gordon for comment, but when I asked Progressive Majority’s Dean Nielsen for his take on the prospect, he was quick to respond:
“Randy’s a great guy, a great candidate and should really consider running for the state house.”
Run for the state house? Hmm. I believe Gordon lives in the 41st Legislative District, home of my favorite Republican, state Rep. Fred Jarrett. Jarrett is pro-choice, pro-environment and a just plain reasonable, thoughtful guy — I like to think of him as a Democrat with an “R” next to his name. Indeed, House Speaker Frank Chopp has been trying to get him to switch parties for years, but Jarrett refuses to leave a GOP that left his fellow suburban moderates long ago. No doubt Gordon would garner enthusiastic support from Chopp and Labor, both eager to put another progressive in the Democratic caucus… and it certainly would be fun watching the righties being forced to grit their teeth and spend scarce resources defending a moderate R.
Yeah, it’s kinda too bad to see one of the good Republicans targeted, but as was recently explained to me by somebody wiser in the ways of electoral politics, it’s always the moderates who are first to go in any legislative body. Why? Well, the reason they are moderate is that they usually represent districts where the other side holds an electoral advantage… a scenario certainly true of Jarrett and the 41st LD, which has grown increasingly blue over the past decade.
Personally, I like Jarrett. But I also like Gordon, and think he’d be an excellent campaigner and a great addition to the Democratic caucus. The 41st is a Democratic district, and it’s time we have a Democrat in Jarrett’s seat.
So, if Jarrett wants to avoid the toughest reelection fight of his career, it’s time to give in to reality and switch parties… and with the new legislative session about to begin, now is the time to do it.
Goldy-
When it comes to holding an elected majority, there are no good Republicans. Fred Jarrett may be decent, but he’s far away from the GOP base.
This is interesting news. I for one welcome a clear cut choice rather than two Dem’s beating each other up and the potential muckraking. Now all monies can be channeled to one candidate. The race is on!
Let’s see. Some far-left Democrat kook wants to take on moderately conservative Republican Dave Reichert, and Goldy acts like it is the end of Reichert’s political career.
Now the other far-left Democrat kook who decided not to challenge Reichert might take on extremely moderate Republican Fred Jarrett. And Goldy says Jarrett should switch parties to avoid political extinction.
@ 3
Nobody in the race against Reichert is far left. And Reichert will lose because he’s a conservitive in a centrist district.
Let’s see. Some far-left Democrat kook wants to take on moderately conservative Republican Dave Reichert, and Goldy acts like it is the end of Reichert’s political career.
Richard, with Darcy Burner hitting all the right notes, Reichert IS in trouble. Don’t you know that several bills that would fix major homeland security problems have been languishing in the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology for months?
And don’t you know who chairs that committee?
Dave Reichert.
Any smart progressive can nail Reichert into the ground. Dave Ross failed to do that, but that mistake won’t be made again.
3, 4, 5
Reichert was a great cop, and is a decent guy whom I respect and like, but he’s affiliated himself with the wrong political party — and I believe 2006 is going to be a bad year for ALL Republican candidates. The GOP muck runs so wide and deep that an (R) next to any candidate’s name will prove toxic.
Roger, I sure hope you’re right about 2006. As to Reichert, I’ve been trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I’m currently reading “Breaking Rank” and to my surprise, Norm Stamper paints a rather less flattering picture.
Indeed, we still have a few moderate Republicans left in Washington…it’s something of a tradition here. However, the state GOP apparatus has been firmly in the hands of the Carlson/Eyman/Vance crowd and is likely to stay that way. The moderates have a choice of switching parties or being forced to hang with some rather embarrassing company.
Very interesting articl on DeLay/Abramoff in the NYTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01.....amoff.html
PDF files, graphics and an email to boot. Read on wingnuts
Only 3 posts, and Democrats are characterized as “far left” and “kooks”.
However, the characterization of a politician as “extremely moderate” was good for a snicker.
Right Wing Talk Show 101: Never refer to a Democrat without the adjective “Far Left” in front ot it.
Reichert – DeLay – Abramoff
Rince and Repeat
ummm I am one of those far left dem kooks (even though I will fight gun control and anti military bia where ever I see it in the Dem party)But If I remember correctly, Darcey is not to the left of me. There are areas in which we disagree. I think we shall see that she will do fine on the issues in the decidedly purple 8th district.
I will be supporting her in any way I can even though I don’t see here as the full scale lefty I tend to encourage.
Off Subject; Warning Roger Rabbit just a joke.
Here’s a lesson to be learned from typing the wrong email address!
A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a
particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they
spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it
was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left
Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the
following day. The husband checked into the hotel.
There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his
wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address,
and without realizing his error, sent the email.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her
husband’s funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory
following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email
expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first
message, she screamed and fainted. The widow’s son rushed into the room,
found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:
To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I’ve arrived
Date: October 16, 2004
I know you’re surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now, and
you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I’ve just arrived and
have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for
your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your
journey is as uneventful as mine was.
P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here.
Sounds like Darcy’s money is coming from out of state, from the big party donors. Too bad she can’t fund raise here from the grass roots. Is it because she really has no local support? If she takes lots from these guys, does that mean she intends to represent them or us?
Why is it the extreme far right fascist wing of the Republican Party is always using name-calling as a technique to discredit their opponents? The last time we saw that was in Nazi Germany.
I’m sorry Randy dropped out of the race. I do not know of any actual qualifications Darcy has to run against Reichert. He may well be in trouble because of his close association with DeLay, but Darcy has no record of action or commitment to Democratic causes, and that may prove troublesome.
Paul Abrams is certainly running, and I have heard rumpors of yet another candidate. Abrams is a long standing Democratric fund raiser. He is, I believe, both a lawyer and a doctor and made a bunch of money in biotech stuff. I understand he is at least partly self-financing.
13.
Bwaaa ha, ha, ha,ha!
Big money donations from out-of-state, why who ever heard of such a thing?
GEORGE R. NETHERCUTT JR. (R-WA)
Contributions by Geography
In-State $2,690,491 (59.1%)
Out-of-State $1,863,738 (40.9%)
No State $2,385 (0.1%)
http://www.opensecrets.org/pol.....=N00008166
Janet S.@ 13: Please link to your source so the rest of us can evaluate. Thanks.
Reichert had a chance to start the cleansing at KingCo Sherrif’s Office. Instead he handpicked a vindictive drone to babysit the mess while he conned his way into Congress. I hate a dirty cop. I hate a dirty cop-loving Congress-critter.
Two comments. First re 13: “Sounds like Darcy’s money is coming from out of state” Regardless of the party, any viable candidate is going to have to draw a million from out of state unless they self fund. This is not a good fact. But it is a fact non the less. My view is that a candidate who can and decides to self fund should not be measured based upon that choice and likewise, a candidate who has the support of their national party organization or the league of woman voters should not be measured based primarily upon that support.
Second: Regarding Fred Jarret: As a democrat I would be thrilled if Fred would switch parties. He is a stellar elected official, a thinker and should be a role model for moderates in both parties. Such a decision for a principled individual like Fred would be the toughest he is likely to ever make. In a system where we elect by party, changing parties feels to the person elected like committing treason. In most recent cases, PVR, Finkbeiner and Tim Sheldon, the switch effected the majority and the person negotiated a position or for things for their district in exchange for the switch. Being viewed along with these three cannot be very attractive for Fred though. It is a testament to how well Fred is regarded that Democratic leadership is apparently trying to woo him when his switch would have no effect on the majority.
If you really want clean elections and politicians who listen to their constituents instead of lobbyists:
http://www.washclean.org/basics.html
Janet S @13,
I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are not just plain stupid, but rather, a GOP talking point machine, and so you deliberately misrepresented what I wrote about Darcy’s fundraising, when you criticized her for not being able to raise money locally.
Notice the word “potential”. The big out-of-state donors do not distribute money willy-nilly; they need to be assured that you are a serious candidate who can raise money locally. And so they set fundraising goals, which the candidate must meet before they will give any support.
That’s what Darcy has done. She’s raised money locally with little or no outside support. A pretty impressive performance for a novice candidate.
Goldy @ 21: That’s exactly what I thought, and why I asked. Thanks.
ProudAss sez:
“Only 3 posts, and Democrats are characterized as “far left” and “kooks”.
Comment by Proud to be an Ass— 1/5/06 @ 6:03 am”
Shame on Richard Pope!! Richard knows they are not “far left” and “kooks”…..they are LEFTIST PINHEADED KLOWNS!!! Stop trying to be so darn civil Richard!
These 2 LEFTISTS believe one of the biggest problems in America is that government isn’t big enough, there aren’t enough government employees and we simply do not pay enough taxes. The real world has escaped both of them. Reichert should win handily.
Cynical @23: Do you EVER (note the capitals, I picked that up from you!) have anything new to say? If this was the old days, I go over to the record player and give it a thwack becuz it was stuck in a groove. Try varying the insults to break up the monotony.
All: Anyone know if/when there is/will be a poll showing relative strengths of Burner vs Reichart?
If you want to know how much out of state money Darcy is getting, one need only go to Tray.com and look her up.
This latest poll certainly will not help the dems.
Watch now as the spineless liberals change their strategy in light of public opinion.
“Americans Okay With Current Balance Between National Security and Individual Liberty”
http://www.rasmussenreports.co.....iberty.htm
Jaybo @ 27: Interesting to note the slanted question (bottom of the 3 shown on the left) about whether bush broke the law. The question they asked is NOT germane. The question I’d like to see in the poll is “Did President Bush break the law by authorizing the National Security Agency to intercept telephone conversations between people living in the Unites States”. This is the crux of the matter.
Jaybo @ 27: And, as usual Jaybo, u’ve missed the point yet again. As we are often told, polls are a) notoriously fickle and b) not answered by the people who have to act as our representatives in house/senate. I wonder how people would answer this question ” Do you believe our representatives in Congress should enpanel a Special Counsel to investigate a sitting high official who may have knowingly and intentionally broken the law?”
@27 Clutching at polls? The poll I’m watching shows the totals for indictments and convictions reulting from Abramoff’s testimony.
27.
If you want to know what Progressives think of Rasmussen in general, here’s the scoop:
http://progressivedailybeacon......php?id=913
On the domestic spying issues, first off, if a poll with three possible answers comes out 30-30-30, the respondents just don’t have much of an opinion.
Now, aside for the fact that Rasmussen is a GOP lackey, the problem with their domestic spying polls is that they never ask the pertinent question. In the poll released today, they asked:
Did President Bush break the law by authorizing the National Security Agency to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the Unites States?
And of course, he did not if he followed the FISA law.
The question they should ask is:
Did President Bush break the law by authorizing the National Security Agency to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the Unites States without a court order?
Because that is what the issue is. Does the president require oversight.
Rasmussen’s previous poll saying 64 percent of Americans believe:
“The National Security Agency [should] be allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States.”
But the key issue, which that poll misrepresented, is not whether surveillance of terrorism suspects should take place at but, again, whether President Bush violated the law by approving warrantless searches.
Since jaybo doesn’t seem to understand what is wrong, he should consider:
http://americablog.blogspot.co.....esley.html
Then imagine the president is a Democrat and the healine names are John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and General Richard B. Myers.
Actually, the names would be: John McCain, George W. Bush and General Richard B. Myers.
Mr. Cynical:
Have you seen RHAT as of 10:20 am today???
Up another 2% today!! BOO-YAUGH!! 2.67% GAIN yesterday!! Yeah, I’m up 4.77% in just 2 days compared to your 8% in 2005.
That puts my 7% trailing stop at $27.70. That’s just under an 11% gain for me at the trailing stop. I’m thinkg about putting in my stop order soon @ $31.75 for a cool 25% gain in about 4-5 weeks.
Loser.
If you haven’t bought NOV yet, it dipped after 10 am, could be a real buying opportunity for you.
Haaaa haaaaaa haaaaa.
Moron.
8% per year, grow some balls you pussy.
Whatever happened to “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself?”
Bush has been scaring the living bejeebus out of Americans for well over four years now. Thanks to keeping us in a perpetual state of fear, he’s successfully assumed the powers of a dictator as he not-so-jokingly pined for in 2000.
When will we begin to confront islamic fundamentalism from a position of courage, confidence, and intelligence rather than as scared children willing to trade away our hard-won rights? When will our country wake up and seize back the reins from this group of fear-mongers who are literally destroying America brick by brick?
it’s seems true abrams is running — though nothing is official yet.
but he’s got some serious credibilty issues: 1) he’s never lived in the district, 2) all of his biotech companies were financial failures and 3) he was implicated in some insider trading and stock inflation.
it would take an enormouse investment of personal money to overcome those things.
14
“Why is it the extreme far right fascist wing of the Republican Party is always using name-calling as a technique to discredit their opponents?”
Because it works. Oh, and before I forget, righton is a nazi.
WashBlog did some great reporting on abrams way back in november:
http://washblog.typepad.com/ma......html#more
Here’s an excerpt from what noemie wrote:
But what kind of a person is Dr. Abrams? An August 8, 2000 Seattle Times article (Drug makers fight profit limits by Tyrone Beason) reports his arguments against price controls on consumer drugs:
Ranken, chief executive officer of Seattle-based Axio Research, was joined on stage by Paul Abrams, chief executive of Seattle-based NeoRx and Bruce Montgomery, executive vice president of research and development for PathoGenesis, also based in Seattle.
None of the men left any doubt which side the industry takes in the search for ways to make sure everyone can afford the cost of a prescription:
Health plans should cover drug costs. Their members should contribute a small co-payment for prescriptions. And government bureaucrats, a term uttered like a slur on several occasions during the conference, should stay out of the way.
“Solutions that involve price controls are inadequate,” Abrams told an audience that nearly filled a meeting room at the hotel. “They are unnecessary, and they’re counterproductive.”
Hmmm… using the term “government bureacrats” as a slur sounds kinda Republican to me. Maybe the government-hating thing is part of industry culture in general, and overrides political orientation. And Mr. Abrams did leave that company shortly after that meeting, surprising industry observers. I hope he’s not part of the guvmint-hating culture — and strong enough to stand up to it if he does run and get into office.
24
I tuned out Cynical a while ago. He doesn’t even have any new insults.
27
Hey jaybo, why not quote more than the headline:
“Nearly a third of the respondents in a Rasmussen Reports survey (32%) say that our legal system worries too much about individual rights at the expense of national security. A similar number (29%) say there is too much concern for national security at the expense of individual liberties. Twenty-seven percent (27%) say that the current balance is about right.”
Jaybo … glad you like this poll showing only 32% support the right’s extremist position on rights vs. security. That’s about how many support Bush’s Iraq policy, too, so it appears to be the same crowd.
I wonder what those poll numbers would look like if Rasmussen asked people if they think it’s okay for the president to spy on American citizens not suspected of terrorism and who have broken no laws, without a court warrant or Congress’s authorization or knowledge, simply because they are critical of his policies or support the other party?
Or how about if Rasmussen asks people if they trust Bush to NOT spy on American citizens not suspected of terrorism and who have broken no laws, simply because they are critical of his policies?
We’re gonna have a poll on Bush’s policies in about 10 months. he he he
FLY THE SLIGHTLY DENTED SKIES OF ALASKA AIRLINES
According to King 5 News, another Alaska jet got dinged today by the contract ground workers of Menzies Aviation. Maybe they should repaint the yellow stripes in a language those guys can understand.
How about flashing neon pink? Maybe they’d see them then?
More of our Imperial President’s stance that he is a law unto himself was reported by the Boston Globe, yesterday.
When Bush signed the anti-torture law, he included a “signing statement.” The signing statement is a new thing that Samuel Alito won his nomination to SCOTUS with. It is the president’s take on the law he is signing.
“David Golove, a New York University law professor who specializes in executive power issues, said that the signing statement means that Bush believes he can still authorize harsh interrogation tactics when he sees fit.”
“The signing statement is saying `I will only comply with this law when I want to, and if something arises in the war on terrorism where I think it’s important to torture or engage in cruel, inhuman, and degrading conduct, I have the authority to do so and nothing in this law is going to stop me,’ ” he said. “They don’t want to come out and say it directly because it doesn’t sound very nice, but it’s unmistakable to anyone who has been following what’s going on.”
link
So, go ahead Congress, pass a law. George won’t follow it.
According to a King 5 update a minute ago, they screwed up this plane pretty good! A Menzies guy driving the cart that pushes the plane around put it in reverse instead of forward, and pushed the plane into the gate and some service vehicles, wrecking the nose and an engine.
Off topic:
What? No talk of buddy Timmy the watch salesman once again forming an intiative to stick it to all you assholes who rejected I-912? It seems lil Crissy and Co. once again tried to sneak an additional $15 or so on car tabs as a result. Why wasn’t this tid-bit of info. published along with the WSDOT’s scare-tactic commercials? HHHHmmmmmmm. You dumbfucks voted for it; now you got it. Tax, spend, tax, spend. An on another note, too bad we had to pick up the tab to hire a trapper to ensure the safety of the “Governor’s” little rat-ass boot dog at the Governor’s mansion. Some people call a Pomeranian a dog, I call it a rodent. Typical that bitch would have a pussy breed like that to begin with.
44
Congress should find out whether King George will obey an impeachment and removal. If he thinks that one has a signing resolution too, send troops to carry him out of the building.
46
“What? No talk of buddy Timmy the watch salesman once again forming an intiative to stick it to all you assholes who rejected I-912?”
Old news. I posted on that one several threads ago. Not my fault if you’re too lazy to read.
@48:
No. It’s called working for a living and not having time to stay on this site all day long and read everything; but thanks for the info.
46
BTW, Mark1, “Crissy and Co.” did NOT “sneak” the car-tab weight fees through the Legislature. It was part of the much-debated, much-reported, transportation package supported by legislators from BOTH political parties:
“In April, the Legislature approved the new fees, which range from $10 to $30 per year. The fees are part of the $8.6 billion transportation revenue package that also included a phased-in 9.5-cent increase in the gas tax.”
Question: Why are trolls like Mark1 such fucking liars?
Hey Mark — how come Timmy the Watch Salesman didn’t include repeal of these weight fees in I-912? Was it an oversight? Or maybe he thought he could make more money (for himself) off two initiatives instead of one? Do you think I-912 Two will do any better at the polls than I-912 One?
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
PUBLIC NOTICE
Posts 45, 47, 48, and 50 are by Roger Rabbit. Not sure what’s going on with this computer — it posted under my screen name all morning, then suddenly started defaulting to Mrs. Rabbit’s screen name for no apparent reason. I didn’t reboot or log off or anything. Weird.
49
“No. It’s called working for a living and not having time to stay on this site all day long and read everything;”
So you’re posting at work? Does your boss know this? You don’t work for King County by any chance, do you? Are you Dean Logan blogging on a King County computer?
The four posts this morning by “Candy” are Roger Rabbit.
@50:
Only twats and Roger Rodent can’t come up with anything more than HAR, HAR, HAR………
I mean why wasn’t this fact on the tab fee increase broadly advertised with the bleeding heart WSDOT and related group campaigns? It wasn’t. A lot of people I know wouldn’t have voted against I-912 if they had been informed of this. I knew this detail, but most people don’t read between the lines. Go Timmy go!
@53:
Oh, that explains it. A jobless wonder soaking up the handouts of society. Well, I gotta get back to work, I know Roger depends on my taxes to wallow in his own naiveness and unproductiveness.
Janet S @ 13 — Underinformed as usual. 2005 numbers aren’t digested yet, but as of Q3 Darcy’s contribs were running about 80% in-state. (See tray.com, as aexia suggests. No sense dying of thirst in an ocean of data.)
Larry the Bourbonite sez:
“Cynical @23: Do you EVER (note the capitals, I picked that up from you!) have anything new to say? If this was the old days, I go over to the record player and give it a thwack becuz it was stuck in a groove. Try varying the insults to break up the monotony.
Comment by Larry the Urbanite— 1/5/06 @ 9:54 am”
Are you saying my free speech bothers you??? I’ve painful read your LEFTIST PINHEADED talking points. While shallow and predictable, I encourage you to repeat them Larry. Take another drink loser.
Larry the Bourbonite is so SHALLOW, he would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle!
49
“No. It’s called working for a living and not having time to stay on this site all day long and read everything;”
So you’re posting at work? Does your boss know this? You don’t work for King County by any chance, do you? Are you Dean Logan blogging on a King County computer?
Comment by Roger Rabbit— 1/5/06 @ 12:52 pm
Dean Logan (Voter Advocate) is a goverment worker on yhe tax payer dime. Roger should I check out Voter Advocate IP address to see if he is really Dean or an imposter working on you dime?
“Roger should I check out Voter Advocate IP address to see if he is really Dean or an imposter working on you dime?”
Feel free, dude. It’s a free country. Hey, I have a suggestion — walk outside and ask the guys in the parked white van to do it for you. They can wiretap him a lot quicker than you can.
@60:
Go ahead catch me if you can chickenshit. And no, I wouldn’t live in tree huggeing, election corrupted King County if you paid me too. Remember Rodent; you’re not immune for paybacks either. Maybe a call to the state welfare office about your benefits and gov’t cheese handouts would be in order.